mk7.5 R space saver spare

[kevinkar]

If a 30" breaker bar isn't a "self-defense tool," I don't know what is.

It is but there's a point when you have to put that down and take off the wheel and put on the spare. Most of us Earthlings only have two hands!

 

[rmidler]

If you have a r, be sure the spare wheel is big enough to clear the front brake discs. They are larger than what's on a GTI.

 

[Acadia18]

If you have a r, be sure the spare wheel is big enough to clear the front brake discs. They are larger than what's on a GTI.

The spare wheel should never go on the front. If you get a flat on the front, you should be bringing a rear wheel forward and putting the donut on the rear. Yeah, it sucks to essentially change two wheels on the side of the highway in the cold, but you should never have a donut on the front of a FWD or FWD biased car.

 

[swcrow]

I have a spare AND carry a full size in the back on long road trips. Boom. Double wrapped

 

[Acadia18]

I have a spare AND carry a full size in the back on long road trips. Boom. Double wrapped

That decreases effectiveness...

 

[Al_in_Philly]

The spare wheel should never go on the front. If you get a flat on the front, you should be bringing a rear wheel forward and putting the donut on the rear. Yeah, it sucks to essentially change two wheels on the side of the highway in the cold, but you should never have a donut on the front of a FWD or FWD biased car.

Of course, to do this one would need to carry around either two jacks, or one jack and one jackstand. Then again, I question this whole premise. Space-saver spares don't use the same rubber compound as normal tires; rather, they use a super-sticky compound similar to what one finds on sport-bikes. Car and Driver ran a comparison test on a Mustang with 4 stock tires vs 3 stock tires and an space save spare a few years back: both set ups performed almost exactly the same, much to C/D's surprise (https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...performance-we-find-out-using-a-ford-mustang/). One also needs to consider that since the compound is so sticky, it wears out extremely fast as well--sportbike tires often only last 2-3000 miles of just normal street riding, and that's just accelerating, turning, and stopping a 430 lb. motorcycle. So, if you mount that little donut, drive it to the nearest repair shop ASAP. All of that said, it's important that the radius of a space saver spare match (or nearly match) the other three wheels, else it can put undue strain on the drivetrain.

 

[Acadia18]

Of course, to do this one would need to carry around either two jacks, or one jack and one jackstand.

Tire goes flat in the front.

Jack up the rear of the car. Swap the good tire for the donut. Lower the car.

Jack up the front of the car. Swap the flat tire for the good tire from the rear. Lower the car.

Like I said I my post, you're pretty much changing two tires. Which sucks under good conditions on the side of the road, nevermind if it's in freezing temps on a highway. But you don't need two jacks or a jack stand to do it.

Now if someone doesn't want to do it, that's up to them. I'm just pointing out it's absolutely doable with a single jack. I've done it.

And it sucks.

 

[Al_in_Philly]

Tire goes flat in the front.

Jack up the rear of the car. Swap the good tire for the donut. Lower the car.

Jack up the front of the car. Swap the flat tire for the good tire from the rear. Lower the car.

Like I said I my post, you're pretty much changing two tires. Which sucks under good conditions on the side of the road, nevermind if it's in freezing temps on a highway. But you don't need two jacks or a jack stand to do it.

Now if someone doesn't want to do it, that's up to them. I'm just pointing out it's absolutely doable with a single jack. I've done it.

And it sucks.

Makes sense.

 

[swcrow]

Tire goes flat in the front.

Jack up the rear of the car. Swap the good tire for the donut. Lower the car.

Jack up the front of the car. Swap the flat tire for the good tire from the rear. Lower the car.

lemme guess....you're good at those games on the crackerbarrel tables with pegs....

 

[rmidler]

Recently purchased a used 2019 R and to my surprise US spec R don't come with a spare.

I'm from NJ and still have the oem 19 pretorias and thinking hard to get the space saver spare just in case a tow truck can't be reached or just install the spare and be on my way to a tire shop.

Do most US R owner purchased a spare just in case?

I have same car. I drive from Massachusetts to Ohio a couple of times a year. Interstate 80 can be pretty barren of services in some areas so the so the flat tire "kit" would be inadequate so I bought a real wheel/tire spare. Just be careful that the wheel you buy will fit over the large front discs. They are larger than those on the GTI.

 

[Acadia18]

I have same car. I drive from Massachusetts to Ohio a couple of times a year. Interstate 80 can be pretty barren of services in some areas so the so the flat tire "kit" would be inadequate so I bought a real wheel/tire spare. Just be careful that the wheel you buy will fit over the large front discs. They are larger than those on the GTI.

I stole the spare tire out of my GTI before I traded it in for my R

The spare tire is like condoms or a gun. I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[Mikejt1954]

Recently purchased a used 2019 R and to my surprise US spec R don't come with a spare.

I'm from NJ and still have the oem 19 pretorias and thinking hard to get the space saver spare just in case a tow truck can't be reached or just install the spare and be on my way to a tire shop.

Do most US R owner purchased a spare just in case?

When I bought my 2019, to seal the deal I made the dealer sell me a spare and associated Jack, etc, at their cost. It fits nicely in the well, and the speaker fits inside it. There is a provision on the trunks floor to raise it to clear the spare, only about an inch. I’d strongly suggest it.

 

[The Fed]

I wouldn't buy them for an R, but...

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...CRXXLSSR&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[Mikejt1954]

Recently purchased a used 2019 R and to my surprise US spec R don't come with a spare.

I'm from NJ and still have the oem 19 pretorias and thinking hard to get the space saver spare just in case a tow truck can't be reached or just install the spare and be on my way to a tire shop.

Do most US R owner purchased a spare just in case?

I did. Bought the car new, made the dealer sell me the spare and Jack at their cost to seal the deal.